Saturday's season opener will see sportsmanship in action just before kickoff.
All across the country, teams will line up and meet in the middle of the field for a pre-game handshake as part of an AFCA-sponsored sportsmanship initiative for season openers this fall.
While it will be a very symbolic and unique gesture, it is providing some curveballs for the normal pre-game routine. Director of football operations Matt Capurro is juggling the handshake with the logistics surrounding warm-ups, the Trojan Marching Band's appearance before kickoff and the pre-game ceremony for Ryan Davidson.
To accommodate the handshake, the teams will be called out of the locker room two minutes earlier than normal -- USC will come down the tunnel six minutes before kickoff and San Jose State will enter the field five minutes prior. The act of sportsmanship will occur 4.5 minutes before kickoff and has been budgeted 90 seconds, with the coin toss and kickoff immediately following.
"I think it's a nice gesture," Coach Carroll said.
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